


Thanks to Edith.

by heyitsnxel



Series: 30 Trope Prompts. [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, First Meetings, Fluff, Just Straight Up Fluff, M/M, barista!Dan, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-17 00:01:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitsnxel/pseuds/heyitsnxel
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a little old lady to push, or more accurately- pull, you in the right direction.





	Thanks to Edith.

**Author's Note:**

> day 1: Coffeshop AU

6 AM was an ungodly hour. The sun was barely rising, the stupid birds were loud, everything was still wet from the night before, and all in all… Dan was not having it. If he wouldn’t get fired for missing another day of work, he surely wouldn’t be staring out the window of the Sandy Rose Café right now. His pastel pink apron (which was totally against his aesthetic, by the way) would be hung on the hook in the back and he would be lying face first in his bed, blissfully sleeping the morning away.

 

But, alas, he did not have that luxury.

 

Why did being an adult come with so much annoyance? Like bills… And having to actually work to pay those bills… at 6 AM. Honestly, Dan could complain all day.

 

The Sandy Rose Café had been open for years, run by a little old lady named Edith. Loved by everyone, she acted as a grandmother figure to most everyone who came in- whether they wanted her to or not. From the stressed out students to the hurried business people, Edith always remembered them by name and always doted on them in a way that made a pang of nostalgia run through Dan’s body for his own grandmother. She gave free cookies to study groups, always had a candy in her pocket for any kids that came in, and she never failed to have that very specific brand of advice that could only come from a grandmother. All in all, she was a wonderful lady to work for.

 

Her presence was truly one of the main reasons the Sandy Rose was still doing so well. Having somewhere feel so homey in the middle of London wasn’t exactly common. But, walking inside the café, the feeling was unavoidable.

 

Except for at 6 AM. When the shop is empty and the sun hasn’t risen and you stayed up too late playing Guild Wars. Then, the Sandy Rose just feels like torture.

 

* * *

 

The morning rush had come and gone, leaving Dan with a mess of spilled milk and coffee grounds, a bunch of dishes, and a stack of knocked over to-go cups to deal with. Edith had already started scuffling around with a rag, wiping the spills of coffee off the table tops while chatting with a woman by the window. Dan watched them for a moment before he began to pick up the cups off the floor.

 

He had gotten so focused, that he hadn’t even noticed the man walk up to the counter until he coughed which startled Dan into abruptly dropping the cups all over the floor again.

 

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” The man quickly apologized, looking just as embarrassed as Dan felt, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“It’s fine. I was just zoned out.” Dan replied, the blush that had spread across his face was glaringly obvious as he finally turned to look at the man, and, _**damn**_. He was attractive. Dan had to practically stop his jaw from dropping at the sight of him. The man chuckled, pushing his fingers through his dark quiff, before looking back at Dan expectantly.

Oh, right. It was his job to take this guy’s order.

“What are you? How can I get you today?” Dan could have died on the spot as he heard the words leaving his lips. He’d definitely add this to the list of reasons why he was a fail later. “I mean, _how_ are you?  _What_ can I get you today?”

 

The man raised an eyebrow, lips briefly rising into a smirk. He definitely noticed the word flub, but was saving Dan the embarrassment of commenting on it for now.

 

“Caramel macchiato. Heavy on the caramel…” His gaze dropped to Dan’s nametag. “… Dan.”

 

Dan nodded, silently hoping he wouldn’t embarrass himself further, as he typed the order in on the cash register. He could feel the man staring, his eyes were practically burning a hole into Dan’s head which, in turn, was just making Dan blush even more.

 

“Name for the order?”

“Phil.”

 

Phil paid and made his way to take a seat by the door. Dan shamelessly let his eyes wander as he walked away. Phil was undeniably the hottest person he had ever seen. Donning a pair of black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt topped with a denim jacket, Phil looked effortlessly handsome. Dan wasn’t sure if he was jealous, turned on, or both simultaneously just from just looking at him.

Phil glanced towards the counter, not even trying to hide his smirk as he caught Dan staring. The squeak that came out of Dan’s mouth as he looked away and acted like he had been making his coffee was not cute in the slightest, but Phil did chuckle from across the room.

 

Casting a subtle glance back towards the table, Dan noticed that Phil seemed engrossed with something on his phone. He would have sighed in relief if Edith hadn’t appeared next to him out of nowhere. Yet again, Dan was startled into knocking something onto the floor. The unfortunate item this time? A half empty carton of milk.

 

“Oh, Daniel, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Edith smiled, bending down to clean up the mess just as Dan had begun to. They were both bent behind the counter now, rags in hand, but Edith clearly was not ready to clean yet. Before Dan could even get a drop of milk off the floor, Edith had pinched his ear, causing him to almost yelp in surprise.

 

“He’s cute, Daniel. Why don’t you go talk to him?”

 

“I- What? No! I’ve embarrassed myself enough today, thanks.” Sarcasm dripped from his words as he tried to maneuver his ear out of her grip.

 

Never the one to give up, Edith tugged Dan’s ear. “Now, now. Come along.”

 

Next thing Dan knew he was being dragged out from behind the counter, Phil’s coffee was in Edith’s free hand, as she led him towards Phil’s table. Dan could feel the blush coming back to his face as Phil’s eyes met his. A look of confused amusement spread across his face as he looked between Dan, Edith, and the coffee, shaking his head at Dan’s silent pleas to help him.

 

“Here’s your coffee.” Edith smiled sweetly, as if she didn’t have a 6 foot tall man by the ear right next to her, “And here’s Dan. He’s on his lunch break and would love to sit with you.”

 

Pushing out a chair with her foot, she prodded Dan in that direction until he sat down. The smile that flashed across her face was filled with a childlike mischief as she winked towards them both before walking away.

 

For the second time today, he could have died on the spot. Phil looked like he was doing everything in his power not to laugh as Dan buried his face in his hands.

 

“M’sorry. She’s a little…” He trailed off, his sentence getting interrupted as Phil burst into a fit of laughter causing his tongue poked between his teeth and his cheeks to go red.

 

The laughter ended up being contagious. After a moment of blank staring, Dan started to laugh too. Neither of the two seemed to be able to stop for quite some time until their laughter had resorted to heavy breathing and the occasional hiccup from Phil.

 

“How did she even manage to drag you across the room? She’s like 5 feet tall!”

The grin on Phil’s face was endearing and Dan found himself mimicking it with a shrug.

 

“I literally have no idea. M’sorry if you had like… something to do.”

 

The speed in which Phil shook his head almost caught Dan by surprise.

“No, no. Stay. I was going to leave my number anyway, but I probably would have chickened out.”

 

The light shade of pink that dusted Phil’s cheeks was obvious against his skin. His eyes had dropped to the table, fidgeting with a straw wrapper. Dan watched him, his gaze falling to the coffee cup on the table. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw his number scrawled across the side.

 

_How did she even do that?!_

 

Dan chuckled, causing Phil to look up.

 

“What?”

 

“Edith already took care of that… somehow.”

 

Phil followed Dan’s line of sight, turning the cup to face him. He laughed again, clutching the now empty cup to his chest.

“I almost threw it away. I can’t even believe that.”

 

* * *

 

Edith watched the two from behind the counter. Dan’s lunch break had ended a while ago, but she didn’t have the heart to interrupt them. They seemed enamored after only just meeting, their conversation hadn’t had a lull in it yet. She’d give herself a pat on the back later for forcing Dan over there, but for now, it was time to make cookies. Perhaps she’d use the heart shaped cutters. Maybe because they were cute, maybe because it would embarrass Dan a bit.

Who knows.

 


End file.
